


loving gestures

by ozonecologne



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Charades, Eileen knows what's up, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Oblivious Sam, Post-Season/Series 11, Retirement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 03:27:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5852254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozonecologne/pseuds/ozonecologne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She takes a breath before descending the stairs. She has a reason to be nervous.<br/></p><p>Tonight is family game night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	loving gestures

Sam lets them both into the bunker with the key he still keeps in his pocket. Eileen trails hesitantly behind him as he shuts the huge door, grimacing but trying not to show it.

“Hey! Sammy!” Dean booms, from somewhere.

“Hey, Dean!” Sam calls back. He puts a hand on Eileen’s lower back, feels the tension there, and then immediately takes it back.

 _It’s ok,_  he signs.  _This is home._

Eileen reaches up and moves his hand down below his ear.

“Home,” she corrects, showing him.

His cheeks turn pink like they usually do whenever she corrects his signing. It’s adorable. She squeezes his hand gently before releasing it entirely.

“It’s ok, you were close. You’re getting better.”

“Thanks,” he mumbles, and he smiles as he says it. It's one of the things she likes most about Sam; he's always eager to learn, never upset about being corrected. It makes teaching him much easier, and she needs all the solace she can get right now.

She takes a breath before descending the stairs. She has a reason to be nervous.

Tonight is family game night.

Dean appears from around a corner and immediately drags Sam into a bear hug. Eileen can’t read their lips when they’re wrapped up in each other like this, so she just stands slightly behind Sam’s body, comforting in its sturdiness, and inspects the walls around them. Plain, boring, gray. This was Sam’s home? Doesn’t seem very welcoming.

Sam puts a hand on her shoulder and draws her back to the conversation. His brother waves at her.

“Hi, Eileen,” she reads on his mouth.

She waves.

Sam hands over the grocery bag they’d picked up at the Gas n Sip on the way over. It has seltzer water and pie and pork rinds in it, and though Sam assured her that each of these items has significance she fails to see how or why until Dean’s eyes light up as he peeks inside.

“Hey, thanks. Cas will love these. And - aw. You remembered the pie.”

“Don’t I always?” Sam replies.

Another man suddenly appears behind Dean around a corner, wiping his hands on a dishtowel. His hair is askew and the sweatshirt he’s wearing has holes in the hem.

“Sam,” he greets happily, with warmth and recognition.

Sam wraps this new person in a hug as well - though it's not as bone-crushing as his exchange with Dean - and Eileen can see him say, “Hey, Cas. Good to see you, man. Looking good.”

For some reason, Dean blushes when he says this.

“I’m going to put this in the kitchen,” he mumbles quickly, so reserved that Eileen has trouble catching the individual words. She squints after him as he leaves. The Dean Winchester she's gotten to know is not easily embarrassed.

A movement over her shoulder distracts her. _You must be Eileen,_  Cas signs. He throws the dishtowel over his shoulder.

Eileen smiles. Another signer, that’s nice.  _You have a lovely home,_  she lies.  _Thank you for having me._

 _You’re welcome,_  he signs back flawlessly.

Cas startles at some sound and turns. “Well, shall we?” he asks, clapping his hands together.

He and Sam quickly become involved in some conversation involving… manuscripts, and Arimathea, maybe. They swap words that aren’t familiar to her as they wander into the kitchen; Dean is waving around a huge plate of nachos, still steaming. The smell of them makes Eileen's mouth water. 

“Dude, did you make these?” Sam asks.

“Yes, and they’re very hot so get out of the way,” Dean hisses. Sam grabs Eileen’s sleeve and jerks her out of his path before she can even process what he’s saying. She nudges him with her elbow in thanks.

They do this a lot now. They communicate in small gestures, without words, in ways that make sense to both of them. Common ground. When Sam first moved in with her it was a lot harder; Eileen was used to living alone and constantly being startled by the giant man looming over her really wasn’t good for her nerves. Sam, on the other hand, wasn’t used to the silence. She used to catch him lying wide awake some nights, when she couldn’t read his lips but could feel his breath against the back of her neck mouthing words that she couldn’t make out. She felt guilty and terrible, curled up against his chest pretending to be asleep and all the while wondering if he could really be happy with someone like her.

But by now they’ve worked out a system that works. Soft touches and smiles are just fine.

They gather in the Men of Letters' giant library - Eileen’s eyes go wide at the sheer number of books and Dean laughs at her - around the giant plate of nachos and the brothers catch each other up on the last few weeks.  _Worked another case in Tulsa, Garth called,_  Eileen reads on Dean's lips. Cas, whose full name she finds out is _Castiel_ , asks her about settling in and her new job at the healthcare firm. They talk about Ireland a little bit. Dean nudges all of the tomatoes on the plate towards Sam with the point of a chip.

Dean clumsily signs his way through some things that Sam has insisted he learn,  _how are you, you look very nice today,_ but Eileen is sharper than they give her credit for. After every sign, Dean’s left hand goes down to rest on Castiel’s knee under the table. She doubts Sam has noticed, but she has. Always watching hands, always reading body language.

Dean seems almost as nervous as she does about tonight. His shoulders are tight despite his best efforts to relax. He glances over at Sam far too often, like he’s just waiting for him to say something. She mentally vows to take it easy on him, and to explain as gently as possible to Sam on the way home.

 

They play charades. It’s Dean’s idea, and he immediately splits Sam and Eileen up as they’re scribbling down movie titles to put into a bowl.

“No signing, that’s cheating,” Dean insists.

Eileen rolls her eyes but Sam begins to protest, ever protective. Dean and Eileen both silence him with a look.

“Fine, ok,” he relents. “But I get Cas.”

Dean snorts. “Deal. Cas is terrible at charades.”

Castiel gets up from his place beside him and rounds the table to sit next to Sam. “That’s not true,” he objects, curling his lip.

“Dude. It is. When you were an angel, ok, maybe you would have ground me into the dust. But your memory’s going in your advanced age, old man. Your recall’s terrible. I doubt you’ll even remember half these movies,” Dean rattles off.

When she's finished processing what Dean has to say, Eileen freezes in her seat. Sam notices.

 _Castiel isn’t dangerous, don’t worry, he’s a friend,_  he assures her.

Slow to agree since he’s clearly not human, Eileen nods. Her fists clench at her sides anyway. Trust issues. They’re all working on it.

Castiel still looks mildly offended. “At least I’m more coordinated than you are.”

“Right,” Dean snorts. “Coordinated.”

Eileen smiles as she sits down next to Dean, peeking over his shoulder at the movie title he’s written. Ghostbusters.

He holds a finger to his lips and folds it up, mixing it in with all the rest.

 

The game really is as big of a mess as Dean predicted it would be. Sam is embarrassingly awkward with his gesticulations. His movements are stiff; Eileen can see the obvious frustration in his face when he and Cas can't seem to connect, and judging by Dean’s frequent giggling she bets she isn’t the only one. She can see the exact moment he picks up Ghostbusters in the way his shoulders slump in defeat.

He pours an imaginary substance around himself in a circle. He holds up his hands and opens his mouth like he’s scared. It's hilarious.

“Demon? Possession? Salt? Um?” Castiel tries.

Sam shakes his head, and intensifies the gesture. When that doesn’t work, he points at the imaginary circle.

“Salt,” Castiel repeats.

Sam nods, and then points outside the circle.

Castiel narrows his eyes, shaking his head. Dean is nearly in hysterics. “Dean, be quiet,” Castiel snaps. “Ghost?”

Sam claps and nods. Holds up two fingers and taps them to his forearm: second syllable.

He punches the air.

“Ghost fight,” Castiel mutters. “Ghost punch. Ghost box. Ghost…”

Dean is laughing again. “ _Ghost punch_ ,” he wheezes.

Sam frantically gestures between himself and his brother.

Castiel’s eyes light up. “Oh. Ghostbusters.”

Dean snorts and tallies another point to Sam and Cas. “Took you long enough,” he grumbles.

Eileen presses her lips tight together so she doesn’t laugh. She might make a little sound anyway, because Dean turns towards her with a wide smile and nudges her shoulder with his.

She doesn’t understand why Sam warned her in the car about his brother’s supposed grumpy demeanor.  _We’ve never been split up this long before. He might get defensive. Don’t take it personally, it definitely isn’t you._  But Dean seems perfectly nice to be around.

She suspects that Castiel might have something to do with that.

Dean’s up next. He pulls a slip of paper from the bowl and throws his head back in a groan. He holds up two fingers.

“Two words,” Eileen says aloud.

He holds up one finger.

“First word.”

Dean nods, and makes the ‘T’ signal with his fingers.

“The,” Eileen says.

Dean holds up two fingers.

“Second word.”

“Oh come on, this has  _got_  to be cheating. How are you so good at this,” Sam says.

Castiel sighs. “Unfortunately, this is all within the regulations.”

Sam slumps and Eileen turns back to Dean. He holds his hand up to his forehead in salute.

Eileen frowns. “The soldier?”

Dean shakes his head. He puts a hand over his heart and dramatically looks off into the distance.

“The Patriot,” Eileen laughs.

Dean nods at her and picks up another piece of paper.

They go on and on and on, well into the night.

Dean and Eileen win by a mile.

 

“I like her,” Cas announces, once the door has closed behind them. Happy laughter still lingers in the air, quiet promises to call more and to see each other soon.

Dean nods. “So does Sam.” He hesitates before he nods again. “So do I.”

Cas stretches his arms high above his head, grunting a little with the stretch. “Did you see the knife in her boot?”

“You know I did.”

“So he’s being taken care of,” Cas adds, scratching his stomach. “Nothing to worry about.”

Dean nods again, taking his time following Cas back into the bunker. He’s staring at the floor, thinking about it. Thinking about Sam in someone else’s house and being watched over by someone else. Someone who loves him as much as he does. They’ve come a long way but they still have a long way to go, he thinks.

“Dean.”

Dean looks up. Cas has stopped walking and is instead standing in the middle of the room. He’s got that stupid sad look on his face again.

“Yeah?”

Cas sighs. “Do you really think I’m terrible at charades?”

Dean laughs, relieved that this is all their concerns amount to these days, and walks closer. Pulls Cas into his arms. “Yeah.” He nuzzles his face into his hair and breathes for a moment. “But I love you anyway.”

He feels Castiel smile against his chest and holds him tighter. “Bed?” Dean asks hopefully.

Cas sighs. “We have to clean up the library.”

With a groan, Dean reluctantly releases him. “Fine. But next time, Sam’s hosting.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr!](http://www.ozonecologne.tumblr.com)


End file.
